Sunday 11 January 2015

Braaaaaiiiiinsssss!

Another Christmas present I received was a copy of Zombicide by Guillotine Games and CoolMiniOrNot. The game has been around for a couple of years now, but it had largely escaped my notice until about six months ago. It's at the top end of the price scale for a board game, but with all the content you get in the box it's certainly value for money. I was still surprised to receive a copy though!

There has been plenty written about the game (and it's several expansions) so I won't go into too many details other than to say that it's proven to be a fantastic, fast-pace and intense game, and already a firm favourite. It's even got my other half hooked!

We played several games over the festive period, with two, three and four players at various times, and each game has proved be fun and exciting (and often, pretty tricky!)


The survivors all begin together, with only the most basic supplies and equipment available

Zombies spawn in buildings whenever a door is unlocked - this can lead to quite a mob forming!

Our first game (after the tutorial mission) saw us jump right into the deep end and attempt the "City Blocks" scenario, rated Hard. Our thinking was "how hard can it be, really?" Turns out, pretty damned difficult!

The culmination of our first mission attempt - two survivors left, trapped in a room with a zombie horde...

Our second attempt at the same mission saw us last a bit longer, thanks to taking the time to open a couple of smaller buildings first and find some half-decent weapons, but ultimately ended the same way

This time we managed to claim two objectives before being eaten!
At this point, we realised we'd bitten off more than we could chew and opted to try something easier! The "Grindhouse" mission looked more manageable so we gave it a try

Doug unleashes his dual Sub-MGs and clears the room in a single burst

We managed to complete Grindhouse in a single attempt, which I'm not ashamed to admit elicited much high-fiving and celebration! Several more games followed, including a few on New Year's Eve when my dad and brother got involved and had much fun slaughtering plenty of zombies before eventually getting eaten anyway. 

And so Zombicide has been added to the list of board game favourites, and also to the substantially shorter list of games that my other half will play, which is an achievement in itself! 

The one thing that is giving me pause for thought though are the figures; specifically, whether they should be painted or not. I like the "board game feel" that comes with using the figures as they are, coloured plastic. On the other hand, I've seen some great examples of painted Zombicide models that look fantastic (not least at Carmen's Fun Painty Time, who seems to have painted every sort of miniature out there...)

To help decide what to do, I'm going to throw the vote open to the world and see what comes of it. To paint or not to paint: that is the question...





2 comments:

  1. Don't paint!!! You have too many other things to paint so we can get some games in with figures that DO require painting!!! Romans. Condottieri. Vikings. Arthurians (oh no, you sold them)...

    Gary

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  2. Paint 'em! Everything looks better painted even it its simply the old GW 'three colours minimum'. (I'm not trolling - honest)

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